Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

RootsTech 2014 Call For Presentations

The following announcement was written by FamilySearch:

Presentation proposals for RootsTech 2014 will be accepted June 17-July 8, 2013, online at rootstech.org/proposals.

RootsTech is a family history and technology conference "where families connect." The fourth annual conference, hosted by FamilySearch, will be held February 6-8, 2014, at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. RootsTech brings together the best in family history tools and technology to help attendees discover and share their family's connections and stories. RootsTech 2014 will reach thousands of attendees both on-site in Salt Lake City and at remote locations around the world.

Ontario Genealogical Society Annual Conference to be Held in Oshawa

The Ontario Genealogical Society's annual conference will be held on the Durham College campus in Oshawa from May 31 to June 2. The society's Durham branch is hosting this year's event. The theme of this year's conference is "Pulling Up Stakes and Putting Down Routes," wherein members of the society help explain the importance of the way a person's ancestors got to where they lived as part of their story. Organizers are expecting between 500 and 700 attendees.

Attendees can choose from 55 presentations and seminars over the three-day event. Featured speakers include experts from Canada, the United States, and one from the British National Archives in London. The complete program brochure can be found as a PDF file at http://goo.gl/bnoAV.

NGS 2013 Conference Next Week in Las Vegas

Take a look at the calendar. Yes, the annual conference of the U.S. National Genealogical Society will be held in Las Vegas next week. The dates are May 8 through 11.

Holding a conference in Las Vegas is always a good idea. First of all, it is obviously one of the major entertainment cities in the U.S. There is something for most everyone in  Las Vegas. Of course, there are the casinos for those who like to throw their money away. The rest of us can find multiple first class shows going on almost every night. The shopping has to be some of the best in the country. And then there are the restaurants. Even if your significant other isn't interested in a genealogy conference, bring him or her along. He or she will find plenty of other amusements in Las Vegas.

EOGN Dinner after the NGS Conference in Las Vegas PROBABLY will be Held

Had I written this article yesterday, I would have announced that I would be unable to host a dinner on Saturday evening after the NGS conference in Las Vegas. However, the seas parted today and it now looks like there will be such a dinner.

If you have never attended one of these dinners held after the close of a major genealogy conference, you can read about past dinners by starting at http://goo.gl/ryhEH.

For the first time ever, I went to a convention city several weeks in advance to make dinner arrangements for a group. However, that didn't work too well. Here I am now making arrangements at nearly the last minute.

Wholly Genes Cruise

Want to attend a genealogy conference and seminar at sea? One such opportunity is the Wholly Genes cruise. The 9th Annual Wholly Genes Genealogy Conference and Cruise will depart Baltimore on Thursday, October 17, 2013. The ship will then visit Portland, Maine; Bar Harbor, Maine (one of my favorite places); Saint John, New Brunswick; Halifax, Nova Scotia; and will return to Baltimore on October 25.

The cruise will be on the Grandeur of the Seas, owned and operated by Royal Caribbean. This modern ship holds 2446 guests and 760 crew members.


The planned presentations include approximately 17 hours of genealogy and technology lectures. You do not need to be a Wholly Genes customer to join this cruise. While Wholly Genes is the producer of The Master Genealogist software for Windows, these 17 hours will be completely software-neutral. That is, these presentations are not related to any specific genealogy software product. Past cruises have delighted users of competitive Windows and Macintosh products as well as non-computer owners alike.

Eneclann Genealogy Workshops in County Wexford, Ireland

The following announcement was written by Eneclann:

As part of the Ferns Gathering, Eneclann, the award winning Irish Genealogy company, is sponsoring two workshops in Ferns, County Wexford, Ireland on June 8th, 2013. This is an opportunity to look at your family history in a unique environment. The workshops will give people who are interested in researching family history an introduction to family history research and access to Eneclann’s vast online databases. To assist those unfamiliar with online resources, computers and assistance from local volunteers will be available at the sessions. The workshops will be followed by lectures and a Q&A session led by Brian O’Donovan, CEO of Eneclann. There is no cost for taking part in these workshops so come along and join in.

New England Regional Genealogical Consortium E-zine #9 is now Available Online

The 2013 New England Regional Genealogical Conference will be held April 17 through 21 in Manchester, New Hampshire. Hey! That's next week!


I plan on being at the conference and hope that can also be there. If you plan to attend, you will want to read the latest Conference E-zine #9 at http://www.nergc.org/E-zine_9_2013.pdf. It provides last minute updates on the conference.

FGS Invites Bloggers to Become 2013 Ambassadors

The following announcement was written by the  Federation of Genealogical Societies:

April 8, 2013 – Genealogy bloggers, societies, writers and editors are invited to participate in the Federation of Genealogical Societies 2013 Conference by becoming FGS 2013 Ambassadors. Ambassadors help to spread information about the FGS 2013 Conference in Fort Wayne, Indiana, August 21-24, through social media to their friends, colleagues, and everyone interested in genealogy.

New England Regional Genealogical Conference E-zine #8

The New England Regional Genealogical Conference (NERGC) will be held April 17 through 21, 2013, in Manchester, New Hampshire. This is usually one of the largest regional conferences in the U.S. The conference organizers are publishing a series of e-zines to provide details of the conference. The following is a extract from the announcement of the latest edition of the e-zine:

NYG&B presents Steve Morse in an All-day Program

Here is a powerful combination: Steve Morse and the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society (NYG&B). If you are in or near New York City, you won't want to miss this event. The following was written by the NYG&B:

On Saturday, April 27th, the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society will present Steve Morse, originator of the ingenious “One-Step” webpages for genealogy research, in a full day of lectures and discussions to help researchers get the quickest and most effective use from online data sources. This is a rare opportunity to learn from one of the nation’s leading innovators in advanced online genealogical research.

Pennsylvania State Archives to Offer two "Archives Without Tears" Workshops

The following information was received from Joshua Stahlman, Archivist at the Pennsylvania State Archives:

Archives Without Tears is an affordable workshop for those who do or aspire to work or volunteer in organizations that deal with the past in an archival capacity—whether it’s a museum; private, non-profit, or college archives; the city clerk’s office; the library’s local history room; or a historic site. You’ll get practical archival advice, sample forms and policies, and learn basic practices so that you can collect, preserve, and assist researchers with the archival treasures in your care.
 

NGS's 2014 Conference Call for Papers Deadline is 1 April 2013

The following announcement was written by the National Genealogical Society:

ARLINGTON, VA, 27 March 2013: Speakers as well as organizations interested in sponsoring lectures or tracks are invited to submit lecture proposals by 1 April 2013 for the NGS 2014 Family History Conference, Virginia: The First Frontier, to be held 7–10 May 2014 in Richmond, Virginia. Building on the records and history that draw so many back to their roots in the Old Dominion, we will explore the origins of those who settled within Virginia’s borders whether they came by land or sea.

National Genealogical Society Presents Research in Washington, DC

The following announcement was written by the National Genealogical Society:

ARLINGTON, VA, 27 March 2013: The National Genealogical Society will be presenting a hands-on research trip to Washington, DC, from 3–9 November 2013. Under the guidance of Craig Roberts Scott, cg^SM, and Patricia Walls Stamm, cg^SM, cgl^SM, twenty-six researchers will use the genealogical resources at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Library, and the Library of Congress (LOC).

RootsTech2013 Wrap-up Report

NOTE: I took dozens of photos at this year's RootsTech Conference, so many that I cannot squeeze all of them into this article. I will show a few of them here, but my complete photo album may be seen at a dedicated address: http://blog.eogn.com/photos/rootstech13/. When you go to that address, you will see an online photo album with thumbnail-sized images. Click on any image or scroll through the album pages to see larger photos.

There is only one word to describe this year's RootsTech Conference in Salt Lake City: Whew!

The RootsTech Conference is now the largest genealogy conference in North America. Actually, it earned that title last year but then grew by more than 50% this year. I know it was big because I am exhausted. My feet hurt, my back hurts, I haven't had much sleep, and I am tired. In other words, it was a great conference!

Sponsored by Family Search, the RootsTech Conference was held for three days at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. More than 6,700 people from 49 U.S. States (why was no one there from Delaware?) and 17 countries were in the Salt Palace Convention Center for the opening day of the RootsTech Conference on March 21. I never heard the final attendance numbers, but I saw a long line of people on the opening day waiting to purchase tickets at the door. Obviously, the final number was higher than 6,700.

RootsTech 2013 to Open with 6,700 Pre-registered Attendees

I knew the RootsTech conference this year would attract a big crowd. However, I was surprised this evening when an announcement was made: 6,700 have paid in advance for admission and that doesn't even include the 1,982 teenagers who have signed up for a special program being held on Saturday for youngsters. If we include the teenagers, the total is 8,600+!

Past RootsTech conferences have also attracted quite a few "walk-ins" who purchase tickets at the door.

Update: EOGN Dinner after the RootsTech 2013 Conference

You are invited to join other genealogists on Saturday evening after the RootsTech 2013 conference for dinner. Rumor has it there will also be a few door prizes. The dinner will be held at 7:00 PM on March 23. You can read the invitation in my earlier article at http://goo.gl/Xw9mu.

You must register in advance, however. The advance registration is required so that I may give the hotel an exact headcount in advance. After all, we want to make sure they have enough food for all of us!

RootsTech 2013 Announces Free Web Streaming Schedule

RootsTech is next week. Luckily, there's still time to register to attend in person. However, for those who cannot attend in person, there is an alternative. The following was written by the RootsTech organization:

RootsTech 2013 announced today which of its conference sessions would be streamed online for free. Over 5,000 people have already registered to attend the popular conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, March 21-23, 2013, where they plan to learn how to find, organize, tell, preserve, and share their family's history-and make new connections. The conference will broadcast 13 of its 250+ classes live at RootsTech.org, including the daily keynote speakers. The family history conference is the largest of its kind in the U.S.

RootsTech 2013 is Next Week!

A major conference will be held next week in Salt Lake City: RootsTech. Last year's event attracted more than 4,000 attendees. This is believed to be the biggest genealogy conference of the year in North America. This year's event, to be held March 21 through 23, should attract even more attendees, probably 5,000 or more.

If you have been RootsTech before, you might be even more impressed with this year's event. Even more has been added, including a new Getting Started track and Developer Day, even more classes and workshops, and a 40% bigger Expo Hall. There will be more than 250 informative sessions and interactive workshops!

 

Saturday EOGN Dinner at RootsTech 2013 in Salt Lake City

You are invited to the EOGN Genealogists' Dinner!

This will be held at 7:00 PM, immediately after the close of the RootsTech 2013 Conference in Salt Lake City, on March 23.

Join us for dinner! You are invited to join other genealogists on Saturday evening after the RootsTech 2013 conference for dinner. Rumor has it there will also be a few door prizes.


We will meet at the Radisson Hotel Salt Lake City Downtown between 6:30 and 7:00 pm on March 23, shortly after the close of the RootsTech conference. You are invited to join us for an informal gathering before dinner when the bar opens at 6:30 pm. Dinner will be served at 7:00.

Southern California Genealogical Society and the International Society of Genetic Genealogy to Feature "Family History and DNA: Genetic Genealogy in 2013"

"Family History and DNA: Genetic Genealogy in 2013" will feature Spencer Wells, Ph.D. and Henry Louis Gates., JR., PH.D. Here is the official announcement:

It’s rare that a new type of event is introduced to the genealogical community. The Southern California Genealogical Society and the International Society of Genetic Genealogy are proud to announce such an event.

“Family History and DNA: Genetic Genealogy in 2013” is a one-day conference designed to fully explore the application of genetic genealogy in researching family history. It will be held Thursday, June 6, 2013, at the Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport, Burbank, California. Registrations are open now and an early-bird registration discount is in place through April 30.